Brown: Iraq war was right

Prime Minister Gordon Brown today said Britain was right to invade Iraq, saying the country went to war "for the right reasons".

He was giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry, where he faced questions on whether he starved the armed forces of resources.

Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot opened the proceedings by asking if he thought the decision to go to war was the correct one.

Mr Brown said: "It was the right decision and it was for the right reasons, but I want at the outset to pay my respects to the soldiers and members of the armed forces that served with great distinction and my thoughts are with their families."

During the four-hour session, the panel is expected to want to know how closely involved Mr Brown was in the decision to go to war.

Alastair Campbell, the former No 10 communications director, told the inquiry he was one of the of "key ministers" consulted by Tony Blair.

But former International Development Secretary Clare Short said the then Chancellor was "marginalised" and even feared he would be pushed out of the Cabinet.

Anti-war protesters staged a demonstration outside the inquiry ahead of Mr Brown's appearance, holding up a blood-stained cheque for £8.5 billion.

Supporters of the Stop The War Coalition and CND said that Mr Brown had serious questions to answer about his backing for the war.

The inquiry has heard from defence chiefs and ministers who complained that the Treasury during Mr Brown's time as Chancellor had imposed swingeing cuts after the Iraq invasion in March 2003.

General Lord Walker of Aldringham, former head of the armed forces, said all the top military chiefs had threatened to resign.

And Sir Kevin Tebbit, the former top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence, said he had been running a "crisis budget".

There is less public interest in Mr Brown's appearance than there was for Mr Blair's session on January 29. But Prime Minister will be hoping any fallout from his appearance will have faded by the election, which must be held by June 3.